Pearl Tower

The Oriental Pearl Tower (东方明珠塔) has a futuristic look. I hoped to get a bird's eye view of the city from the observation deck.

There is an elevated pedestrian walkway running all around the traffic roundabout, and in the middle of that is a topiary garden.

The inside looks just as futuristic. Here we are waiting to board the elevator.

The sightseeing floor at 263m has a 360 degree panoramic view. This is view is of The Bund.

Then going anti-clockwise, this is looking towards the upper reaches of the Huangpu.

The Jin Mao Building and the SWFC behind it. Couldn't do much about the viewpoint, unfortunately.

Almost back to the starting point; this is Suzhou Creek.


The glass plates have names of places in China, e.g. Beijing, Shenzhen, and distances in km marked at the relevant compass direction. It gives you an idea of the size of China.

We left through a series of elevators and stairs, past the Space City floor at 90m, which was incongruously filled with noisy arcade game machines. This is a parting look at the brightly decorated elevator shaft.

In the basement is the Shanghai Municipal History Museum, which focuses on the period of history from the opening of the port to the communist takeover, about 100 years. I only took one picture here, of the antique transport room. If I had attempted to take pictures of all the dioramas there an entire blog would be required. The museum should be appreciated in person.The presentations were very informative and gave a good feel for life in that period of the city's history.

It was dusk when I emerged. This is my final picture of Shanghai, looking southeast down Century Avenue.


I decided to have a squiz at the Xinyang Market, a collection of underground stalls at the Science and Technology metro station. Mostly apparel was sold here. It looked like the copyright police had been through before the recent expo, a notice pasted on the wall warned that fakes of brands such as Gucci, etc. were forbidden. There was a paltry selection of electronics. I had half an idea to get a Cheap Chinese Watch as an additional alarm for the morning but saw nothing suitable.


I had a dinner of congee on Dongchang Road outside the hostel followed by a red bean drink for dessert. Then I arranged my belongings for a quick departure in the morning and had an early night.